Video released of correspondents’ dinner shooting
Prosecutors have released video showing the moment authorities say a gunman broke into the White House Correspondents’ Association dinner and tried to kill President Donald Trump.
Washington’s top federal prosecutor, Jeanine Pirro, posted the video on social media on Thursday.
The photo showed Cole Allen Tomas shooting a U.S. Secret Service officer as he walked through security toward the gala packed with journalists, administration officials and others, he said.
Pirro said there was no evidence the agent was hit by friendly fire.
Allen agreed earlier Thursday to remain in jail while awaiting trial.
Allen did not enter a plea during his appearance in federal court after authorities say he activated a magnetometer at the Washington Hilton while holding a long gun and disrupted one of the most high-profile annual events in the nation’s capital.
Allen was injured but not shot in Saturday night’s attack. A Secret Service officer was shot but was wearing a bullet-resistant vest and survived, authorities said.
Prosecutors said they believe Allen fired his shotgun at least once and a Secret Service agent fired five shots. They had previously not confirmed that it was Allen’s bullet that hit the agent’s vest.
In court documents pushing for Allen’s continued detention, prosecutors wrote that Allen was photographed in his hotel room just minutes before the incident and found on his person an ammunition bag, a shoulder gun holster and a sheathed knife.
In a message that authorities said sheds light on his motives, Allen referred to himself as a “Friendly Federal Assassin” and indirectly addressed complaints about a number of Trump administration actions.
At a brief hearing before U.S. Magistrate Judge Moxila Upadhyaya, Allen’s attorneys agreed to keep their client behind bars for now, after arguing in court documents that Allen should be released.
In a court filing, the defense wrote that the U.S. government’s case “is based on inferences about Mr. Allen’s intentions that raise more questions than answers,” and noted that Allen never mentioned Trump’s name in his writings.
The defense left the door open to future pressure to release Allen before trial.
Allen’s attorneys argued that some of the testimony of acting Attorney General Todd Blanche “indicates that the recovered ballistic evidence is inconsistent with aspects of the government’s theory, the evidence collected by the government, and/or the testimony of witnesses.”
In response, the Justice Department said evidence showed Allen fired his shotgun toward the Secret Service agent at least once.
Prosecutors wrote that investigators found at least one fragment at the scene consistent with pellets.
“The government is not aware of any physical evidence, digital video evidence, or witness testimony that is inconsistent with the theory that your client fired his shotgun toward the officer or that the officer was actually shot once in the chest while wearing a ballistic vest,” prosecutors wrote.
Allen was charged with that crime, as well as two firearms charges, including discharging a weapon during a crime of violence. He faces life imprisonment if convicted of the assassination charge alone.
Allen, 31, is from Torrance, California. He is a highly trained teacher and amateur video game developer.
